This course is intended to teach students to be attuned to the
origin, development, and importance of gender differences in society
and religion; to analyze critically how perceived dichotomies
between feminine and masculine have influenced the opinions,
actions, and lives of individuals and thereby shaped cultural
attitudes over time; and finally, to examine how ecclesiastic
institutions have shaped social behavior in the past. This is
accomplished through an historical and comparative examination of
female images that circumscribed the roles of women, in distinction
to those of men, in the history of the Christian, Jewish, Muslim,
and Zoroastrian communities. Reading list available in the Central
Eurasian Studies office.